The present disclosure relates generally to warning lights for motor vehicles and, more particularly, to a control circuit for controlling the warning lights on a motorcycle or other vehicle with composite brake/turn lights.
For many years, motor vehicles have been equipped with brake lights and turn lights that illuminate to warn drivers in a trailing vehicle when the leading vehicle is braking or turning. Conventionally, the brake light and turn lights are independently controlled so that braking and turning are indicated respectively by the brake and turn lights. The brake light is turned on continuously when the vehicle is braking and turned off when the vehicle is not braking. The turn lights are turned on and off in a flashing pattern when the vehicle is turning and are turned off otherwise. When the vehicle is braking and turning, the brake lights are turned on continuously and the corresponding turn light is turned on and off in a flashing pattern.
After-market controllers are available to change the normal operation of the warning lights to improve safety. For example, some after-market controllers may cause the brake light to flash according to a pre-determined pattern, and/or illuminate the turn lights when the vehicle is braking. U.S. Pat. No. 8,588,997 (the '997 patent) discloses one such control circuit 10 for controlling the warning lights of a motorcycle or other vehicle.
The controller described in the '997 patent requires three inputs: a run signal, a brake signal, and a turn signal. Some motorcycles currently being offered have composite brake/turn lights rather than separate brake and turn lights. The existing controllers will not operate properly on motorcycles with composite brake/turn lights. Accordingly, there is a need for a new controller to provide enhanced control of the warning lights on vehicles that have composite brake/turn lights.